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Barcelona must prevent star from heading to Arsenal or Juventus

By Rucker Haringey

GRANADA, SPAIN - APRIL 02: Uche Henry Agbo of Granada CF (R) being followed by Rafinha Alcantara of FC Barcelona (L) during the La Liga match between Granada CF v FC Barcelona at Estadio Nuevo Los Carmenes on April 02, 2017 in Granada, Spain. (Photo by Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images)
GRANADA, SPAIN - APRIL 02: Uche Henry Agbo of Granada CF (R) being followed by Rafinha Alcantara of FC Barcelona (L) during the La Liga match between Granada CF v FC Barcelona at Estadio Nuevo Los Carmenes on April 02, 2017 in Granada, Spain. (Photo by Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images) /
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Barcelona need to keep hold of Rafinha

Most of the transfer discussion about Barcelona’s midfield this summer has focused on acquiring Marco Verratti. If the La Liga giants aren’t careful, they could see one of their most important midfield cogs walk out the door.

Reports from Marca (via Calciomercato) quote Rafinha as saying he’s “open to anything” regarding his future. That certainly isn’t the statement of a player who is locked in to playing for Barcelona forever.

Even more concerning for Barcelona officials is the fact that both Juventus and Arsenal have strong interest in signing Rafinha this summer. That isn’t a huge surprise given his talent level. The Brazilian midfielder was one of Barcelona’s only stars who managed to contribute on both the offensive and defensive ends of the pitch last season.

He posted a very respectable Whoscored.com player rating average of 7.15 in 18 La Liga appearances. Moreover, he was the only member of Barcelona’s midfield aside from Sergio Busquets that showed any real ability to stop the opposition. In short, he’s exactly the sort of midfielder that Ernesto Valverde should be trying to build the middle of his formation around.

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At 24 years of age he’s just entering the prime of his career as well. His performance is likely to get better over the next several seasons. His talent might be further unlocked if he’s given more athletic partners in the midfield. Covering for the likes of Ivan Rakitic and Andres Iniesta can suppress any player’s offensive freedom.

Rafinha’s age also makes him the club’s second youngest regular behind Samuel Umtiti. They can’t afford to let young, emerging stars leave the club without receiving an insane offer. Neither Arsenal or Juventus are going to table a truly massive bid for a player like Rafinha. He isn’t sexy enough to open either club’s purse strings wide enough to really break their respective banks.

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Barcelona have every reason to eye big name transfers this summer, but they need to pay close attention to keeping their squad together too. Losing a player like Rafinha would set the club back more than a couple of steps this summer.

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